Group Workouts

The 1000 Mile Club meets on Monday evenings for group workouts in the San Quentin yard. Workouts are led by Coach Ruona with the assistance of two other volunteer coaches, Diana Fitzpatrick and Kevin Rumon. Monday workouts are varied and consist of typical track-type high intensity interval training, pick-up relays, and pacing runs. Occasionally Coach Ruona coordinates a longer Friday morning pacing run, ranging from eight to twelve miles. The 1000 Mile Club is the only athletic group that trains year-round at San Quentin.

Individual Training

Club members do most of their training individually or in small groups. Members record and submit their mileage on a monthly mileage sheet to the club president who keeps a running total. Some 1000 Mile Club members have run thousands of miles at San Quentin.

Events and Competitions

Nine times per year (roughly monthly) the 1000 Mile Club hosts a running competition in the prison yard. Meets are open to everyone at San Quentin. Beginning with a 3-mile run in February, the meet distances increase each month with the final race being the San Quentin Marathon in November. The meet schedule includes a track meet and relay races.

The meet schedule for 2018 is:

February: Three-mile run

March: Six-mile run

April: One-Hour run

May: Ten-mile run

July: Track and Relay Meet

August: Half Marathon

September: Two-Hour run

October: Three-Hour run

November: San Quentin Marathon

In 2017, we combined the previously separate Track Meet and Relay Races into a single event. We added a 10-mile run in May.

Club members are encouraged to participate in as many meets as possible. The meet schedule is organized to give runners a logical training path to consider running the San Quentin Marathon in November.

Running Course

All running at San Quentin, whether in training or in competition, is done on a 1/4-mile course in the lower prison yard. The course surface is asphalt and gravel and has six 90-degree turns. Since the course is not a dedicated track and is open to the entire prison population, running at San Quentin can be challenging.

All running competitions are held on the same 1/4-mile loop. Club members and other volunteers who aren’t competing will count laps for the runners, clear running lanes through inmate pedestrian traffic, and provide electrolyte replacement liquids. Marathon runners must run the lower yard loop 105 times.